Culinary tourism and contradictions of cultural sustainability: industrial agriculture food products as tradition in the American Midwest

ABSTRACT

A culinary tourism project in the eastern Midwest of the United States illustrates contradictions between the cultural and ecological pillars of sustainability. Foods traditional to this area reflect industrial agricultural methods and technologies now recognized as threatening to the natural environment. Highlighting those foods through culinary tourism, then, celebrates forms and practices representing a food culture that is actively incompatible with the ecological, economic, and social pillars of sustainability. This article describes how folkloristic perspectives on culinary tourism were applied to first validate that food culture; then make it competitive as a tourism attraction. Those perspectives were also used to address conflicts with environmental sustainability posed by supporting cultural sustainability. This model of culinary tourism offers frameworks to recognize the complexity and dynamic nature of both food and tourism, suggesting strategies for resolutions consistent with a food cultures’ history, ethos, and aesthetic. That consistency is fundamental to the endurance of a sense of connection felt by community members and to the sustainability of that food culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Culinary tourism
• sustainability
• foodways
• authenticity
• American
• Midwest

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The phrase was borrowed, with permission, by a hospitality and tourism industry group in 2004, where it was redefined as travel for unique and memorable experiences around food. The organization has since changed its name to the World Food Travel Association, claiming that the word “culinary” was elitist. See (Wolf 2006).

2. I have written extensively about this region, so I refer here to my own work rather than reference all sources (Long 2004b, Long 2007, 2009). A graduate student involved in the project later published a monograph (Crook 2013), and other scholars have also commented on the character of Midwestern food cultures (Shortridge 2003).

3. Specifically 31, 357, according to the U.S. census, https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/bowling-green-oh-population.

4. Although the near-by city of Toledo boasts a market established in 1832 (https://www.toledofarmersmarket.com/market-history), the contemporary model of farmers’ markets as public spaces supporting small local producers and bringing customers and producers together tended to be perceived by residents in the mid-2000s as spaces for “hippies” and idealists. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is a model in which customers agree to pay a farm a set amount each month and then receive a certain percentage of whatever the farm is able to produce, thereby sharing in both profits and risks.

5. Several individuals were instrumental to the project: Wendy Stram of the Bowling Green CVB, Christy Weininger and Kelly Kling of the Wood County Museum, and numerous undergraduate and graduate students in my classes at Bowling Green State University. Kling, and then graduate student, Nathan Crook, were of particular assistance in developing the brochure for the trail.

6. Although there is a long history of food-centered tourism occurring in selected countries (France, Italy, Spain, China, in particular), it was not recognized as a potential industry niche until the late 1990s, when it emerged partially out of wine tourism. It also started being explored by tourism scholars during this time, primarily in New Zealand, Australia, The British Isles, and Canada. In the US, it was first recognized by scholars from other disciplines, such as cultural geography and folklore.

7. Statistics and demographics of tourists to Bowling Green and the surrounding Wood County do not seem to be available from local offices, however, some general patterns can be seen. There are four main attractions, and each draws different audiences. Bowling Green State University in the city of Bowling Green is a destination for parents and students, however, since the majority of students are in-state, much of this travel requires only one or two days of lodging and meals. The university also hosts a sizable international student population, however, these students and any visiting families do not have a large visible presence.

Another attraction in Bowling Green is the Wood County Fair that has been celebrating local rural culture for 150 years. This draws over 100,000 people of all ages, including many not involved in that who appreciate the entertainment, carnival rides, fair food, and so on. Reflecting the local settlement history, this audience is primarily white with a prominent German heritage background. A similar demographic, although wider spread of European ethnicities, attends the Annual National Tractor Pull Championship run by the National Tractor Puller’s Association (https://www.pulltown.com). Started in the early 1960s, the three-day event draws over 70,000 spectators, including many RV campers, from around the country.

The most diverse audience attends the Black Swamp Arts Festival held every September since 1993. The event has music stages featuring nationally and internationally known roots-oriented artists, juried art booths, community arts displays and demonstrations, children’s activities, food vendors, and a beer garden. The event draws up to 100,000 people over the three days, and includes all ages, with a racial, ethnic, and gender diversity not usually seen.

Aside from the university and these events, there is little in this area that attracts tourists. Instead, it tends to be a stop off place for people traveling through, either east and west on the Ohio turnpike or north and south on I-75.

8. For discussions of food and sustainability, I developed a “foodways tree” as a visual aide for exploring the motivations and impacts of each individual’s food choices. For more information, see: https://foodandculture.org/about-food/food-connects-us-all-tree-of-connection/.

9. This was developed as a master’s thesis in tourism and education at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, by Melissa Hill who worked as an intern for a number of CFAC. projects.

10. See materials posted on www.foodandculture.org.

11. For example, the city of Lucca, Italy, in an attempt to maintain its cultural identity, decreed that only Italian cuisine could be served commercially in its city center. This created an outcry by local residents as well as restaurateurs who challenged the official definitions of Italian cuisine and felt that those definitions constrained their own survival and daily lives.